In game show shocker “Wheel” rolls over usual leader “Feud”

Review based on a national syndicated rating report for the week ending September 30.

The big syndication news in the session ending September 30 was that Family Feud (5.8 live plus same day national Nielsen rating, down 5% from the week before), which has been the dominant game show for years, was overtaken – albeit not by much – by Wheel of Fortune (5.9, up 7%).

 “Wheel” in turn was soundly defeated in the overall Nielsen household rankings by ratings behemoth Judge Judy (6.8).  “Judy” routed all syndicated shows for the ninth week in a row despite being preempted in many markets – along with most other daytime programs – for coverage of the Kavanaugh/Ford Senate Judiciary hearings.

Meanwhile Jeopardy (5.8, up 4%) tied “Feud” for second place in the category.

Elsewhere in access Entertainment Tonight (2.9, up 4%) was the top-rated magazine, pulling ahead of sister show Inside Edition (2.8, down 3%).

Also worth noting was Page Six TV (0.7, steady), which was the only magazine in the top seven to stand its ground and avoid any year to year rating declines despite getting hit by numerous preemptions.

In daytime Dr Phil (2.9, down 3%) finished first among talk shows by a wide margin, leading the genre for the 108^th consecutive week.

Live with Kelly and Ryan (2.1, steady) was the only talker in the top three to avoid any ratings erosion, jumping 11% in the all-important W25-54 demo and grabbing the No. 2 spot in the category over Ellen DeGeneres (2.0, down 5%).

Among the new syndication entries in first-run, Face The Truth (0.8) strengthened 25% in the key demo and was the highest rookie, topping fellow freshman Caught in Providence (premiere week 0.5) by 60%.

In addition Chicago P.D. (premiere week 0.8), the off-net police crime drama strip, got off to a strong start in its first tour of syndication duty.

Check out these other Magid articles:

• Top talkers shine as summer fades
• How to be an active anchor in today’s local media landscape
• Magazines stand up to Hurricane Florence
• 2018-19 season starts strongly for several top talk shows